Theories of Investment: A preliminary reading of Post-Keynesians and Kaleckians

Abstract

Accepting  the importance of investment in the macroeconomic debate, this paper proposes a preliminary analysis of the determinants of private investment decisions in two approaches of the heterodoxy: the Post-Keynesians and Kaleckian. Using a theoretical literature based on demand side, the main question is: are there  differences, in the theoretical perspective, between the two models? Although both approaches are guided by the Principle of Effective Demand, differences are observed between schools.  Different views about the dynamics of investment decisions - even inserted in the heterodox post-classical  research program - denote the complexity of this variable.